Yeah, this is a weird one. It seems to be a good representation of how strange human behavior is....feels similar to when I observe people in the "real" world and start wondering on the what and why of the things they do. Humans are very very strange creatures, which is itself a perpetual understatement.

I believe complex is the word that comes to mind in any discussion revolving around the "strangeness" of human nature.

You know, Skynet, this is what has informed art and artists for centuries. From the prehistoric cave paintings in Lyon to artifacts found in Egypt and Greece and Romania with pictures and symbols illustrating the good and the ill side of human nature, it's simultaneously a fascinating and frustrating conundrum. Examining my own complexities, I am able to use the insights gained from even my own introspection in my works, which I hope to unveil soon.

Even given its frustrations, human nature is a goldmine for storytellers. Arguably, without the "human nature" aspect of storytelling, is there really a story? Sure, one could use the Universe as a basis for a narrative, but that tends to lead to boredom!

I don't know Enoch... I believe there would still be a story without human nature. As far as we know humans may not be the only storytellers in the universe. We are all alone on this microscopic planet and we are ignorant on so many levels. We are most likely one of the smallest of all the stories in the universe itself. That doesn't mean that the smallest parts aren't as important as other parts. Everything must be in existence for some reason, but who's to say what that reason is?

Visuals can also be as strong or stronger than a narrative, and one thing that the universe has an endless supply of is visuals. I don't think I'd get bored of what the universe and beyond has to offer visually. I would say the numbers of mind blowing "stories" and things to see and experience are infinite. Visuals can also tell a story far better than words in many cases. In a single picture you can see the whole story happening all at once. Depending on what's in the picture narrative can be unnecessary and I also mean this with human nature. The one problem with human nature for me is that in reality it ends up being so self destructive. There are lots of beautiful things but in the bigger picture, based on what we continually see happening, humans in general will probably kill themselves and many other living creatures off.

Anyway, I think boredom is a choice that one makes on how they want to feel. Aren't there enough questions and mysteries in life that would keep anyone from getting bored? I'd think so but that's just me.

And that is why we cannot appreciate existing entities on a suitable or appropriate level. The limitations of our cognitive faculties don't allow for such cosmic considerations. That is what would bring boredom.

I'll be the first to admit, my limits as a human being (to the extent that I'm willing to acknowledge that they exist) cause me to tune out during stories that should rivet me otherwise. And why? My ability to relate to stories of an esoteric or cosmic nature is tied to the tangibility of the entities that serve as the subjects or characters of the stories. I can relate to WALL-E--but what about a substance of unknown origin that slowly materializes into some form, its appearance defying description? It wiles its days away searching for its purpose in the universe before passing away as all (rather, most) living, tangible organisms seem to do. Or maybe it serves its purpose. See, I find it hard to believe anyone would find these sequences of events interesting; harder still to believe that anyone would pay attention long enough to be invested in wanting to care about what happens, or what one could learn from the proceedings.

And that's my point, overall, rambling but ultimately thorough as I could make it.

I think all it takes is opening up the mind to new perceptions. Obviously there's a lot more going on in this world than we could ever hope to understand but if people would let go or be more flexible with their chosen illusions, it would become obvious that everything is not what it seems. Maybe it's laziness. I'm not saying you are. Well, I'm lazy myself when it comes to the kind of discipline it takes to transform and take complete control of the mind and take it to a higher level. I don't think people realize what's possible even when you can stop the uncontrollable mental rambling for just a few minutes or more. It's very hard to do though, especially when you're not yet aware that it is possible to actually control your thoughts and emotions as much as you want. For example, imagine how you could have saved a situation if you were able to instantly catch, hold and transform your anger into a stronger controllable positive energy before it exploded into uncontrollable madness and made you lose what you were fighting to keep. A showing of anger is a sign control that was lost... but that's just the beginning of what I'm ultimately talking about. There's so much undiscovered territory inside our own minds.

I think people should stop their thoughts, observe their minds more and learn about what life is without making any final judgments on what anything really is, because whatever you decide will always be a guess or someone elses guess. True knowledge in the most absolute sense we can experience is an incredibly rare thing that most will never know but a person can only begin to get there with a kind of mental dedication that most of us probably don't have. Everything that exists now in this physical world is temporary and so fragile but we can be timeless inside our minds. We can time travel in our minds to places and states of mind that don't exist now. But people are mostly obsessed with what is in front of their face and ignore the world of their inner mind. I don't understand the conclusions most people come to with reality. Is it to feel safer or smarter? In a hundred years we'll all be gone (most likely) and everything we know and all technology will probably be completely gone or replaced by something else. It's an endless cycle. I'm not saying to not be in the moment. I actually mean it even more so. Be in the moment on multiple levels of awareness simultaneously.

Also, I think that being on multiple states of awareness is the key to achieving psychological balance, which as many of us are aware, is lacking in today's harried professionals.

Yes, Skynet, I have slipped into the habit of becomingn a lzay thinker, which is why I am often confronmted with dilemmas that make me feel challenged, when all it would take is a bit of inventiveness and creativity--traits I do not lack, yet don't have enough of.